Research: IT Pro Ranking: Data Center Networking

Kurt Marko12/31/11

Changes Afoot in the Data Center?

Cisco sits on the throne in the data center network, at least according to the latest InformationWeek survey of more than 500 business technology professionals. Although Cisco’s position seems unshakable, several industry and technology trends threaten to disrupt the market, from the proliferation of virtualized application workloads and a consequent change in traditional data center traffic patterns, to the commodification of 10-gigabit Ethernet (GbE) via merchant silicon switch chips.

And there’s more cause for optimism among competitors, because our survey finds IT pros strongly value reliability and performance over cutting-edge features and visionary product roadmaps, factors that seem to level the playing field for many vendors. Also, although most respondents are happy with their existing network products, half are nevertheless considering replacing or supplementing their primary or secondary suppliers of choice. Furthermore, more than 71% are either in some stage of network rearchitecture or expect to be within the next two years—both strong signs that network equipment buyers are evaluating their options.